Somehow, I never tire of cookies. No matter how many hundreds, maybe even thousands, of batches I’ve made in my life I still crave them regularly. That’s why I’m always experimenting and tweaking cookie recipes in the kitchen, especially chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes all I want is an ultra rich, gooey, and chewy chocolate chunk recipe.
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies are absolute perfection because they are loaded with that rich and nutty brown butter, salty-sweet, butterscotch, and pure chocolate flavors. Chocolate chunk cookies can easily become too ooey and gooey (too much of a good thing exists!) so I made sure these were the perfect balance of gooey, chewy, and crunchy.
I’ve included tons of tips below so your cookies turn out perfectly! Best of all? These cookies require no electric mixer required.
How to Make Perfect Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Browning the butter
Follow the directions closely for browning the butter. It’s super simple, just be sure not to walk away from it. It quickly goes from browned to burnt.
Do you have to use bread flour?
The bread flour in this recipe helps make the cookies ultra chewy and thick. It’s my go-to trick for incredible cookies so I always have some on hand. If you don’t have any feel free to use only all-purpose flour, though your cookies might lose some chewiness.
Sugar
A high ratio of dark brown sugar makes these cookies moist, chewy, and rich in flavor. I love it. Again if you don’t have any on hand, you can use light brown sugar but your cookies will lose a little bit of awesomeness.
Chocolate
This recipe calls for both regular semisweet chocolate chips as well as chocolate baking wafers. I used the Guittard brand of semisweet chocolate wafers. You can also find these specifically at Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma, or Sur la Table. You could also use the Valrhona brand of wafers (they call theirs “chocolate feves”). They don’t hold their shape like chocolate chips do. Instead they turn into little chocolate puddles that are a delight to bite into. If you can’t find them feel free to use 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips instead.
Sea Salt
This is optional, but you can add a sprinkling of flaky finishing sea salt to the cookies right after pulling them out of the oven.
The best baking tips…
I always use a kitchen scale to weigh my ingredients, especially flour, and an oven thermometer to ensure baking accuracy. Incorrectly measured flour can lead to cookies that are tough, crumbly, dry, too thick, or just blah. Most ovens run a little hot or cold, so checking the temperature with an oven thermometer ensures the best cookies possible.
Chilling the Dough
It might be a little annoying to see that I call for chilling the dough for a minimum of 24 hours in this recipe. But believe me, it makes a big difference here. Both the taste and texture improve during this time. Think of it as a marinating time where everything just gets better and better!!
Size
I’ve found these are best made as big cookies, using a 3-Tablespoon large cookie scoop. This provides the perfect texture: crisp at the edges, slightly gooey in the center, and chewy throughout. If you want to make smaller cookies, use a 1.5-Tablespoon cookie scoop and reduce the baking time to about 10 minutes.
Why Use a Cookie Scoop?
Using a stainless steel spring-loaded cookie scoop when portioning out cookie dough is one of the KEYS to beautiful, uniform, evenly-shaped and evenly-baked cookies. My cookie scoop is one of my most frequently used kitchen gadgets. A spring-loaded scoop saves you *so much time* in forming the balls of dough. When using a scoop, you ensure each ball is evenly sized so the cookies bake evenly, meaning you don’t have any small overbaked cookies or large underbaked cookies. Learn more about Cookie Scoops and how to use them here!
Make Ahead
You can make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. I like to scoop balls of dough onto a small baking sheet and freeze them until solid. Then I transfer the frozen balls to a ziptop bag and store in the freezer. Let the balls come to room temperature before baking. This way I can bake off small batches of fresh cookies whenever I feel like it! Check out my full post on how to freeze cookie dough and bake from frozen here.
This recipe was the September 2020 selection for our monthly baking challenge. Every month you can join a challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Full challenge details here. Check out everyone’s cookies:
AMAZING!!!
I’m just curious. There’s no need to cool down the butter before adding the sugars? I’ve seen recipes they cool down the butter before adding the sugar. Any scientific explanations?
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies has become my favorite chocolate chip cookie to make! That you for such a great recipe!
hi! i think i burnt the butter because it’s completely black. would it still be okay to use or will the cookies turn out tasting bad?
We’d recommend making the brown butter again, otherwise you’ll notice the burnt flavor in your cookies. Hope you tried again, let us know how it went!
Best cookie recipe ever. And I love that the proportions are weighed. Sooo good. I also have subbed the wafers for toffee bits and it is delicious.
Hello 🙂
I made these cookies and baked a few of them after chilling for one hour because I couldn’t wait but the rest of the dough is still in the fridge. Now I found that they spread a little too much and were a too greasy, is there a way I can improve the dough? I know it will probably spread less after 24 hours in the fridge but I still found them too be too greasy, I think I didn’t add enough flour.. is there a way I can still work with the chilled dough?
Thank you so much!
Hi Eva! It’s possible! Was your brown butter/sugars mixture cooled completely before adding the other ingredients? Did you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? If not, I’d highly encourage you to get one (they’re surprisingly cheap on Amazon!). That will guarantee precision when measuring out your dry ingredients. I haven’t tried adding additional ingredients to dough that’s already been mixed and chilled, but you’re welcome to experiment! Let us know how it goes!
Hi!!
These look awesome! I don’t have bread flour, how much all purpose flour do you suggest I use for this recipe? Thanks!!
Hi Aisha! You’ll use the same amount as noted for bread flour, just keep in mind that your cookies won’t be quite as chewy!
These turned out BEAUTIFULLY and so so tasty! Used a kitchen scale for the first time in a baking recipe and will every time now. The oven thermometer tip is great—I learned that I need to set my oven all the way to 385 to hit an internal temp of 350! I did have one runt ball of dough left over in the fridge (I just portioned them into 97-99g balls since I didn’t have the 3tbsp scoop) and didn’t let it get all the way to room temp before baking since it was just the last little bit. This one remained more rigid and didn’t flatten to a more natural cookie shape like the others so I’m glad i now know to take the pre-bake resting time seriously 🙂 awesome recipe!!
Loved reading through your comment! So happy to hear you used a kitchen scale and oven thermometer, they’re game changers in the kitchen! and so glad you enjoyed this recipe too! 🙂 Thanks so much for the comment!
Ive made this the first time on my daughter’s first birthday as a giveaway since its that good. It has that lingering nutty something aftertaste. But alot asked me to bake again and its still good but It doesnt have that aftertaste again? I think its luck or maybe theres a difference between marinating for 2 days vs 3 days?
Ive made this 5x already and everybody said its good but my sister whose very very hard to please with her cookies says its not as good as the first one I baked. I think so too. I wonder why.
Hi Lucky! So glad to hear how much everyone loved them! Without having baked alongside you, it’s hard for us to say for sure the difference between your batches. I’d experiment making one batch of cookies where you marinate for 2 days, bake half the batch, then bake the rest on the 3rd day to compare. Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? If not, I’d highly recommend one as that will help ensure precision in your bakes. Good luck! Please let me know what you find out!
For Lucky- did you change the brand of butter that you used from the first batch to the second? That will affect the taste and how the butter browns in a big way. I make candy and not all butter is the same. The amount or lack of salt in the butter and how much liquid is in each brand affects flavor greatly.
These were soooooo good and came out of the oven so picture perfect!! I can’t believe what a difference browning the butter and chilling the dough makes!! Wow!!!
These are my new favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe! Thank you Tessa!!
So happy to hear how much you loved them, thanks for letting us know, Shannon!
I always use this recipe because it is always a hit! Delicious chocolate chip cookies! By the way, is there a faster way to chill the dough?
So happy you love this recipe! There really isn’t a way to expedite the chilling time, check out more details in this article HERE. Hope that helps! I always recommend baking up a few cookies right away (who wants to wait?!), then “marinating” the rest of the dough 🙂
I like to try your recipe. I have only all purpose flour and wheat flour. Can I use half of each in place if bread flour
Hi Tess! We haven’t tested this recipe with wheat flour, so I can’t guarantee the same outcome! I’d suggest using only all-purpose flour if you don’t have bread flour, though your cookies might lose some chewiness.
Delicious! I already have a favorite cookie recipe made with brown butter — but your video on Instagram showing how to make the brown butter, I was definitely not browning it enough. My family did think they needed a little more salt even though I always add Maldon salt on top (which is not noted in the cookbook, but I do see it noted here.) I made the Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies the day before (I’m testing out your cookbook to the max 🙂 and the brown butter makes the world of difference between a regular cookie you’d find anywhere to an amazing cookie!!
So glad you loved this recipe! I agree, brown butter makes anything better 🙂
Hello, I only have light brown sugar. Can i use this in place of the brown sugar? I was also planning on using chunks (cut into pieces from a bar of cooking chocolate). Will this work?
Hi Jennifer! We love dark brown sugar in this recipe because it makes the cookies moist, chewy, and rich in flavor. If you don’t have any on hand, feel free to use light brown sugar but your cookies will lose a little bit of awesomeness 🙂 A chocolate bar should work fine instead of wafers! Please let us know how it goes!
Do I bake it straight from the fridge?
Yup! You’ll want to let the dough sit at room temperature just long enough for it to be soft enough to scoop, then bake 🙂
Hi. What is the number of the cookie scoop? I’m not sure if mine is the same as the OXO. I have the 24 and 20 cookie scoop
Hi Divina! A large 3 tablespoon scoop is size 20. Hope that helps!
If I want to make half how is the recipe then?
Hi Marifer! To halve this recipe, cut each ingredient in half. For the egg yolk, use 1 tablespoon or 1/2 ounce. I hope that helps!
What is the weight of the butter after browning?
Hi Jackie! I’m not sure, that’s not a measurement needed to make these cookies! You don’t need to add additional butter to this recipe after browning the butter 🙂 I hope that answers your question!
Thank you
Just made these, yum! Best chocolate chip cookies recipe I’ve ever tried so far. The brown butter makes all the difference.
I didn’t have bread flour so I only used all purpose flour (317 grams). After chilling the dough for only 2 hours (couldn’t wait!), I decided to test it and bake a few cookies. It still ended up amazing and delicious! Excited to bake the rest of the cookie dough 22 hours from now.
Yay!! So happy you love this recipe, Catherine! I always have to bake up a few cookies right away too, it’s difficult to wait haha 🙂
I tried using your recipe but my cookies didnt spread
Hi Fran! The most common reason cookies don’t spread out is due to too much flour being added. Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients?
Made these cookies because I was craving a really decadent chocolate chip cookie, and man this one is sooo good. Probably one of the best recipes I have tried. I baked them for a family party and got so many compliments on them. I think next time I make them I would probably not mix in the chocolate wafers and just place one into each dough ball just so they’re a bit more evenly distributed.
So happy to hear how much you love this cookie recipe, Jenelle! Glad they were such a hit!
Made these to take to work and had multiple people ask if I could bring in more ASAP, multiple people ask for the recipe.
I had a few left at home that I gave away without my husband knowing and he got so mad he stopped talking to me for a whole night.
haha oh no!! Sounds like a double batch is mandatory next time! So happy to hear they’re such a hit 🙂
I first made these cookies in January for a friend who promptly requested the recipe after a single bite. This week I made these cookies three times and will never use another chocolate chip cookie recipe. They look beautiful — just like gourmet bakery cookies — and taste incredible. These have become my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Thanks so much for your kind comment, Anoush! I’m thrilled these have become your go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe!!
Hi, I tried making these cookies today. I love the flavour but my cookies turned out too cakey. Could you please advise on what I could have possibly done wrong? Thank you
Too cakey of cookies normally means that too much flour was added. Do you measure your ingredients with a digital scale? If not, I’d highly recommend getting one to ensure accuracy in measuring your ingredients. If you are unable to get a digital scale, I’d recommend checking out my article linked here about How to Measure Flour. Hope this helps! I’d love for you to try this recipe again and let me know how they turn out!
SO amazing. I’ve been looking for a new go-to cookie recipe and I think this is it!
Amazing!!
Amazing cookies! Can you explain whether you cover the dough in the bowl with plastic wrap or do you turn the dough out onto plastic wrap? I’m making it a 2nd time and that step is a bit unclear.
Keep the dough in the bowl and wrap the top of the bowl with plastic wrap 🙂
I did that the first time assuming it was the intent, then second guessed you/me and wrapped the dough out of the bowl and refrigerated. I doubt it will change the flavor. By the way, just absolutely appreciate the level of detail you go into each recipe and the tips. A well-written recipe is a work of art. Thank you!
I don’t think it will either, just a littler easier to manage 🙂 Thank you so much for your sweet feedback, I so appreciate it!
These cookies are WONDERFUL! I was trying to get something similar to the brown butter cookies they sell at Whole Foods and I think these are even better. I didn’t have the wafers so I chopped up a Trader Joes bar of dark chocolate instead.
I have other recipes where it calls for refrigerating a dough first and then scooping it. I always scoop it and then refrigerate it because it’s so much easier to scoop when soft. Have you ever tried that Tessa and what did you think?
I got your cookbook recently! I love it and love your scientific approach. 🙂 Thank you for sharing all your research!
I’m so pleased you love these cookies and my cookbook, Debra! I have tried scooping the dough first, and I actually talk about it in this blog post about chilling dough. It is definitely annoying waiting for the huge ball of dough to soften up a bit after it’s been in the fridge so long, especially when you just WANT a cookie lol, but it’s so worth it! Thank you so much for your kind feedback!
More science! I love it. 🙂 Thanks for the quick reply! I double wrap my balls but I totally agree they dry out faster than if I left it in one mass (plus it uses a lot of plastic wrap). Thanks for the explanation. My 48 chilled cookies are in the oven right now & I’m excited to try them!
You’re welcome 🙂 I’m excited for you to enjoy your cookies, woohoo! Have a wonderful weekend!
I made these and they are delicious! But, everything I’m made of yours, Tessa, so far has been outstanding!
I love to hear that! Thank you so much, Joyce, for your kind feedback 🙂
Hey, so I do not have chocolate baking wafers on hand, would I be able to use chopped baking chocolate instead? Thanks!
If you don’t have the wafers, feel free to use 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips instead. Chopped baking chocolate would be delicious too!
I’m so glad I found your recipe. I’ve tried countless recipes, experimented on my own, but they ere either too soft, too chewy, too crunchy. This is exactly the way I like my cookies, not too soft, with some bite, but with crunchy edges. I did halve your recipe (just to remove temptation!), omitted the egg whites, and they came out so very delicious. This is a keeper and I just to be sure, I made another batch right after the first one, to make sure it wasn’t a fluke!
Oh yay! I’m absolutely thrilled you love this recipe 🙂 Tip next time: make an entire batch but FREEZE half of it for any week-night cravings! Enjoy 🙂
I chilled for 24 hours and let come to a scoop-able temperature before baking, and they did not spread more than an inch! I measured the flour by weight, too, so I have no clue what went wrong. I will try reducing the amount of flour by a quarter cup next time, but first try wasted a lot of ingredients 🙁
These have got to be the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever tasted! They are so flavorful, soft, chewy and full of chocolate! After a long search, this is my go-to recipe!!
So glad you loved these cookies!
The Best Ever. Love thees.
Happy to hear that!
So good!!
what can i replace for chocolate baking wafers i want to make this cookies a try for our consumption. I wish i can hear from you, thank you
You can use 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips instead of wafers! If you look in the pink box, I actually answer this under the “chocolate” section.
My search is finally over. This is the best cookies recipe I’ve ever made!!!
I’m honored!
INSANELY delicious! I have definitely found my new favorite baking site. Everything I’ve made so far has come out exceptionally good.
Loved the flavour of these cookies! However my cookies spread way too much but i even chilled them for two days.. why would this happen?
The best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever made. I will only be using this recipe from now on. The extra work to brown the butter is definitely worth it, and it’s really not much more work at all.
Absolutely thrilled to hear this!
I did this by volume and not weight. Did not turn out well. The sugar did not melt when added to the butter. The final texture was similar to too-dry pasta dough or maybe biscuit dough. I put in plastic and rolled to approximate cookie size. After removing from the fridge and allowing to warm to cut, the dough crumbled. I added another egg in the hopes of getting some binding. Was finally able to work into cookies. A test ball baked into a ball. Dough had to be flattened and rose during baking.
The result was…meh. Definite crunch of sugar with no caramelization of the sugar. Incredibly greasy from the butter. Cooled hard and brittle. Experimented with time/temp with no discernible improvements.
What exactly is 2 stocks of butter? How would you say that in cups?
Hi Angel! This recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter, and usually butter is labeled right on the package for the cup equivalent. 2 sticks of butter is roughly equal to 1 US cup.
I have made these 4 times already! These have turned into THE chocolate chip cookie recipe for me. The recipe in grams to the detailed tips and instructions really help out A LOT. Thank you for an amazing recipe that I can’t stop making!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe and found all the tips helpful! Hooray!!
My cookies were too soft- how should I correct it?
Hmm these cookies are meant to be soft in the middle. Do you mean they were underbaked? You can also check out my Thin & Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies if you prefer a crunchier cookie.
Out of the world !!!
Does anybody know if I could use this recipe for a cookie cake instead of cookies?
These cookies were so delicious!
Next level chocolate chip cookies! I had never used brown butter before, but I loved the result. Waiting 24 hours was the hardest part of the process.
Amazing! Chewy! Chocolatey! I added a sprinkle of Maldon Sea Salt at the end only because I love that little bit of salty contrast but these cookies taste delicious as is. It’s my second time making them and my family adores them!
Perfectly chewy, buttery, and chocolatey. I even overbaked them and they were still delicious. Browning butter was super easy and I felt like I bought these from a bakery!
They turned out great! I loved the consistency of the cookie. The only problem I had was that they were way too sweet for me! I could only eat one cookie per day because they were almost sickly sweet. I think if I were to remake it, I would sub out the dark brown sugar to suit my tastes.
Rich and chocolatey! Loved the flavor of the browned butter.
Amazing! So delicious! Everybody loves them!
Baked these two days ago and froze the dough. Baked the first batch tonight and they’re good! Definitely has that caramel finish from the brown butter. I think I prefer cookies that cream butter versus melting it for the final texture but these are delightful! Excited to have a fresh baked cookie option for awhile when I want. Next time I would be curious to try with all purpose flour only to see what the difference to me taste like using bread flour versus not.
I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies for 25 years and these are among the best I have made. The brown butter totally makes a difference. Will definitely makes these again.
Made this for my friends and family and everyone raved. It was my first brown butter recipe and it turned out great!
Delicious chocolate chip cookie LARGE and filling and slightly sweet
This recipe is worth the time and effort! (Not that it was even difficult to make) . Def my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe to date. My sister and roommate loved them! Will make again, and can’t wait to try out other cookies from the book 🙂
These were delicious! Had to bake them for a bit longer in my oven. But so good!
Discoveries. I wanted to see how this recipe compares with one I’ve developed and used for a while. I did not have any wafers so I used dark chocolate chips instead. (Yes, I know, substitutions.) I was rushing it, running out of time. Instead of overnight chilling of dough, I put in the freezer for 2 hours. A little tough to scoop, so after the first scoop (which I weighed after trimming it flush) I sliced, weighed and formed balls of dough by hand. Baked both sheets at the same time, rotating and swapping racks halfway through. Not used to doing this size, spread a bit and some cookies merged. Things to remember for next time. But they came out delicious of course. Yet another yummy variation on chocolate chip cookies. I love what browning butter does for a recipe.
These cookies are so soft and delicious! I can’t wait to make them again!